October 2012

October 20, 2012

Time flies when you are working outside the studio. I'm back this weekend, in the studio, with so many things to make I can't quite keep them all straight. So, right now I keep moving from project, to sticky note, to another project, to knitting notes, to the computer, and then to another knitting project. The question is, will anything get finished? That remains to be seen.

I had a request from "across the pond". A1 needs some indoor shoes to keep her toes cozy in the evenings when she's working about the house. My first thought was, "Make her some felted slippers! I could get some great colors and put suede bottoms on them so she doesn't slip, then embroider them with flowers and decorative stitching!" My second thought was, "You have no time, buy her some online." Well, dear readers, I am one slipper in and the other one is on the needles. Are you surprised? I did manage to resist buying new yarn. I am bound and determined to do most of my Holiday knitting and gift making from supplies I already have. (More on Handmade Holidays later!) So I chose charcoal and black, out of my stash, with the idea I would put on some colorful stitching after they are felted.

That being said, I do have a big pile of new yarn.

In my defense, this is for, what we hope to be, a fun video for work. I'm excited, but there is a ton of prep work to be done!

I am also holding out the hope that I can get to this project.

I've been wanting to weave a rug for the bathroom, old jeans and hemp!

October 11, 2012

One of the best parts of working for a yarn store are the store projects. I get a chance to work with yarns and patterns I've been curious about but might not make for myself or for friends. I also get a chance to push my skills a little too.

Store projects can be a little nerve wracking. The finished object is put in the store, with your name on it, for lots and lots of discerning knitters to look at and try on. The item needs to have the right gauge, be knit beautifully, and the pattern has to be right. That's a lot of pressure for a knitter!

My first project was a hat. I knit the whole thing and put it together, there were lots of stripes and ends to sew in. It was enormous, a hat for a giant! I had to take the whole thing apart, soak the yarn and re-knit. I swore I would never knit another store project. Needless to say, I've knit more. Like this one...

Classic Elite "Lucky Cap" from Serendipity 9194. Knit with Kumara. I had enough left over to knit just the band too.

This is a three skein, cabled, 55" long scarf that had to be knit, wet blocked, dried and buttons sewn on in three days! The yarn is Fibre Co. Tundra, knit in their "Tallin" pattern. This one almost did me in. I'm realizing, as I look at the pattern more closely, that I may have completely messed up the cables. Maybe no one will notice. Remember that pressure I was talking about? This is the last time I'm doing a store project! I sort of mean it.

October 07, 2012

Looking around the studio this morning, all I can see are unfinished projects. Some of them I started two years ago.

The season of pumpkins and spooky trees has rolled around yet again.

There is a hand stamped, but unwritten, thank you note.

Being better at writing thank you notes has been on my list of personal updates for a REALLY long time. I can make the card, even write it, then mysteriously my motivation wanes and it never gets mailed.

The most vexing UFO is a store sample I agreed to knit on Saturday. It needs to be knit, blocked, and buttons sewn on by Wednesday morning. It's a 55" long, cabled, scarf. No one else wanted to do it and I just can't pass up a challenge.

October 05, 2012

It's candy corn season! Hurray! Not only is this one of my favorite candy treats, but it is everywhere in the knitting/decorating world too. It's a perfect storm of Candy Corn.

Last month, I noticed some of my favorite bloggers knitting socks that self striped in candy corn colors. Susan B. Anderson blogged about hers. Betz White blogged about hers. So, by the time I took notice, the sock yarn was out. As with most things I can't have, I became obsessed. Luckily, I work in a yarn store and am surrounded by yarn on a 3 days out of the week basis.

I happened to spot 2/3 of the candy corn color trifecta on the 2.50$ shelf in a fingering weight. Yellow and orange came home with me that day and I scavenged some white from the stash. Now, I love socks, but they take some time and they are hard to see, unless you knit knee socks and wear a skirt. So, I decided to make something slightly more visible and faster.

Arm warmers! Simple, fast, visible!

and...

Boot toppers! Again, simple, fast, visible and they keep the cold out of the tops of your boots. That's not why I make/wear them though. I just like seasonal accesories.

Before
I knit my arm warmers and boot toppers, I had to measure a piece of
Candy Corn. G happened to come in to the studio while I was bent over
my tiny candy corn with my ruler, making copious notes and doing very
"high" level math. All I needed was a jewelers loupe to complete the
image. He just shook his head and walked out. I'm pretty sure he
thinks I'm crazy, but when it comes to Candy Corn, it's all about
proportion. I'm committed to Candy Corn accuracy.

October 02, 2012

It's a cool, rainy, quintessentially New England autumn day. Our flock of wild turkeys made their daily appearance, inciting the dogs to riot. I think they might just hang out in the woods until one of them says, "Hey guys, I'm bored. Wanna go over and drive those dogs nuts?" After awhile they move on. I think turkeys are easily bored, small brains and all.

Inside, I've been working on the angler-fish. She's all done and her hubby too! I love that when an angler-fish male finds a female, he bites on and eventually becomes part of her circulatory system. I had to make one for H. A1 knit an angler-fish and male companion when she was younger. She forgot the wire for the lure so she named the pair "Floppy and Faithful".

This is the one H fell in love with. I hope he doesn't mind the color change. I wanted to use up some of the stash. These projects are perfect for that.

Here's the finished anglerfish and "friend". I couldn't help myself, I had to add a painted card to go with it. I mixed some glow in the dark paint in with the white. Hope it works!

All I need to do is send it. I'm a little postally challenged, so my assistant (read, Husband) may have to take care of that for me if it is to arrive on time.

Next challenge, tackling the last two colors of the neverending blanket. I always forget how BIG blankets are.